Vacuum cleaner



- March 24, 1936.

w. v. P'AINE VACUUM CLEANER Filed Feb. 1, 1933 Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES VACUUMI CLEANER Wilbur V. Paine, East Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Spencer Turbine Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 1, 1933, Serial No. 654,561.

11 Claims.

My invention relates to that class of vacuum cleaners in which the power and dust separator mechanisms are located at or in proximity to the tools employed for cleaning purposes, as in rooms of residences, and similar places where cleaning operations are effected, and an object of my invention, among others, is the production of an apparatus that may be readily moved from place to place, one that is compact in structure, and particularly one which is extremely effective for the performance of the operations for which it is designed.

One form of an apparatus embodying my invention and in the construction and use of which the objects herein set out, as well as others, may be attained, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a view in front elevation of my improved vacuum cleaner.

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of the same.

Figure. 3 is a View in rear elevation.

Figure 4 is a view on enlarged scale partially in vertical section through the apparatus on a plane denoted by the dotted line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a view in cross-section on a plane denoted by the dotted line 55 of Fig. 4' with the separator tubes removed.

In the accompanying drawing the numeral 6 denotes theshell of a pump employed for creating flow of air: through the structure for cleaning purposes, such case containing a rotor comprising fan blades 1 projecting from. a shaft 8, said shaft being driven by a motor 9 preferably located.withits. axis in line with said shaft and secured thereto. All of the parts thus far described may be of old and well known construction understood by those skilled inthe art. and forv this reason amore full and detailed description is omitted herein.

Brackets l8 and H- are secured to the shell 6 as by means of segmental bands l2 and. I3 secured to the outer curved surface of theshell in any suitable manner, said brackets and bands forminga saddle to receive and support. said shell. Said brackets include ribbed extensions I 4 terminating at their outer ends in bearings ill for a shaft l6 which extends through said bearings and whichhas mounted at its outer ends wheels I! or other supports preferably portable by means of which the structure as. a whole. may be. readily moved from place to. place.

Handle attaching sockets I8are securedas by means of segmental bands ill. to opposite. sides of theshellfi andas shown in Fig. 3.01 the drawing, and a brace attaching socket is secured to the upper side of the shell as by means of a segmental band 2|, said bands all being secured in any suitable manner, as by means of spot welding or otherwise. A. handle 22 is secured at its opposite ends in the sockets l8, and a brace 23 is secured at one end to the handle at the top of the latter, said brace being secured at its lower end in the socket 20.1 This handle serves as a convenient means for moving the cleaner about.

The shell 6 terminates at its forward end in cars 24 spaced apart to form arecess 25 to receive a separator shell 26, one side of which is located in said recess with an opening 21 establishing communication between the interior of the shells 6 and 26, and as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing.

The separator shellis preferably round in form in cross section and opens at the bottom thereof to receive a dust pan, the bottom of which is located substantially in the plane of the bottom of the wheels l1, saidpan and bottom of the shell therefore serving as. a support for the. structure at the forward partthereof. The pan is removably held'in place as by means of spring catches 29 of any suitable construction, said pan being telescoped into the bottom of the shell 26, and as shown in Fig.4. of the drawing. A dust pan chamber 30 in'the bottom of the shell is divided fromthe separator chamber by a plate 32, and a plate 33 divides the separator chamber from an inlet chamber 34 at the top of thecase, the plate 33 preferably having a flange 35 fitting the inner wall of the shell. A top plate 36 is removably secured. to the top of the shell in any suitable manner,.as by means of thumb latches 31, and a gasket 38 may be employed to seal the joint between the top plate and the top edge of the shell. A hand hole 39 in the side of the shell 26 affords means for gaining access to the interior of the shell, said hand hole being closed by a cover 4!! removably held in place and sealed in any suitable manner.

The weight of the motor, the fan, and the separatorshell is so distributed on opposite sides of a vertical plane passing through the shaft l6 that the structure is nearly balanced, the weight being such, however, as to effect partial support by the bottom of the pan 28-, little power applied to the handle: 22, however, being required to ralse the pan from the floor.

The separator structure, particularly in connection with the fan and motor arrangement, comprises an important feature of my invention. The plates- 33 and 32 are each provided with flanged. openings 4| and 42,, the wall of each opening having an annular rib 43, said ribs forming supports for separator tubes 44 each of which is suspended from the plate 33 and is held firmly in place by the plate 32. A contractible band 45 is secured at each end of each tube, as in a pocket therein, and the contractibility may be afiorded by means of the flexibility of the band alone or such flexibility in connection with a split or separated band.

In amxing the separator tubes within the shell the bands 45 are contracted and are then passed through the reduced opening caused by the ribs 43 after which they are turned to proper position to retain them in place, and as shown in Figure 4 of the drawing.

In order to enable the tubes to be thus attached in place it is necessary that they be made extensible. One of different ways for affording this extensibility is shown in Fig. 4 in which the tubes are fluted circumferentially, these flutes being of helical shape, and a spring of helical shape conforming to the shape of the flutes is secured within each tube. In this manner after the tubes have been secured in place at their upper ends they may be stretched to permit passing of the bands 45 at the lower ends thereof through the constricted openings 42 in the plate 32.

' A swivel connection 41 is attached to the top plate 36 said connection being suitably equipped with means for attachment of a hose at the end of which a cleaning tool is secured in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art.

In the use of the device the fan being in operation will cause a flow of air inwardly through the nipple 41 into the inlet chamber 34 and from thence downwardly through 44. In this downward movement much force is exerted at the opening 21 to deflect the air current through said opening, and this sharp deflection within the tubes 44 causes the heavier particles of dust and dirt, by centrifugal action, to travel downwardly through the tubes to the bottom thereof and into the dust pan 28. Only the very finest particles of dust commingled with air will pass through the sides of the tubes, through the opening 21 and through the fan structure at the end of which the current will pass outwardly through an outlet opening 48 formed in the bracket H, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and from which it may be conveyed to any suitable point of discharge.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my invention together with the device which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the device shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set out.

The term "portably mounted as it appears in the specification and claims herein is used in a somewhat broad sense to distinguish applicants device from prior apparatus which is permanently installed in buildings and similar places, applicants device differing from these in that it may be moved from place to place where needed and it is not essential that wheels shall be employed for this purpose.

ings on their lower ends in which said support is mounted, segmental bands projecting from the the separator tubes opposite sides of the upper ends of said brackets, forming a saddle, a pump shell of cylindrical shape supported by said saddle, a motor projecting from said shell on one side of said support, a cylindrical separator shell attached intermediate its ends to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor and extending crosswise thereof with its axis extending crosswise of the axis of said pump shell, means in one of said shells for causing flow of air therethrough, and means in the other of said shells for separating dust from said air.

2. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted axle, ribbed brackets having bearings on their lower ends for said axle and segmental bands secured to the upper ends thereof forming a saddle, a pump shell mounted on said saddle, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said axle, a separator shell attached to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor, a projection from one of said brackets containing an opening communicating with the interior of the pump shell, and means in said shells for creating flow of air therethrough and for separating dust from said air.

3. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a saddle upon said support, a pump shell mounted on said saddle with its axis horizontally disposed, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said support, ears projecting from said pump shell on opposite sides thereof from the end opposite said motor, a cylindrical separator shell secured to said pump shell in the recess formed between said ears with the axis of the separator shell vertically disposed and the bottom arranged to form a support for said apparatus, and means in said shells for creating flow of air therethrough and for separating dust from said air.

4. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a pump shell of cylindrical shape mounted on said support and extending on opposite sides thereof, a motor attached to and projecting from said shell on one side of said support, a cylindrical separator shell attached intermediate its ends to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor, and extending crosswise thereof with its axis extending crosswise of the axis of said pump shell, handle attaching sockets including segmental bands embracing said pump shell on opposite sides thereof near one edge to stiffen said shell, a brace supporting socket including a segmental band secured to said pump shell whereby to stiffen the latter, a handle having its opposite ends secured in said handle attaching sockets, a brace secured at one end to said handle and at its opposite end within said brace supporting socket, and means in one of said shells for creating flow of air therethrough and means in the other of said shells for separating dust from said air.

5. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a pump shell mounted'on said support, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said support, a separator shell attached to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor, said separator shell having an opening intermediate its ends communicating with the interior of the pump shell opposite the axis of said pump shell, separator tubes suspended in said separator shell and extending across said opening, and means within the pump shell for creating flow of air therethrough.

6. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a saddle upon said support, a pump shell mounted on said saddle, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said support, a separator shell attached to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor, separator tubes removably vertically disposed in said separator shell, said tubes having fluted elements to permit the tubes to be extended, said fluted elements being located opposite a hand hole in said shell and said tubes extending across a lateral opening in said separator shell communicating with the interior of the pump shell, and means within the pump shell for creating flow of air therethrough.

'7. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a, saddle upon said support, a pump shell of cylindrical shape on said saddle, a motor projecting from said shell on one side of said support, a cylindrical separator shell attached intermediate its ends to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor and extending crosswise thereof with its axis extending crosswise of the axis of said pump shell, handle attaching sockets including bands embracing the pump shell on opposite sides thereof whereby to stifien said shell, a handle secured at its opposite ends in said sockets, means in one of said shells for creating flow of air therethrough, and means in the other of said shells for separating dust from said air.

8. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a saddle upon said support, a pump shell mounted on said saddle, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said support, a separator shell attached to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor, said separator shell having an opening intermediate its ends communicating with the interior of said pump shell, plates located at opposite ends of the separator shell, separator tubes secured to said plates and projecting lengthwise within the separator shell across said opening, and means for creating flow of air in said pump shell.

9. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a saddle upon said support, a pump shell mounted on said saddle, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said support, a separator shell attached to said pump shell on the opposite side thereof from said motor, plates extending across said separator shell at opposite ends thereof to create a dust pan chamber at the bottom and an inlet chamber at the top, a dust pan removably located in the dust pan chamber, an outlet communicating with the chamber at the top of the shell, separator tubes supported by said plates and extending lengthwise within the separator shell and across an opening through the side wall of said shell communicating with the interior of the pump shell, and means within the pump shell for creating flow of air through the apparatus.

10. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a pump shell mounted on said support, a motor projecting from said shell to one side thereof, a separator shell attached to the opposite side of the pump shell, said separator shell having an opening thereinto communicating with the interior of the pump shell, plates located at opposite ends of the separator shell, separator tubes secured to said plates and projecting lengthwise within the separator shell across said opening, and means for creating flow of air in said pump shell.

11. A vacuum cleaner including a portably mounted support, a pump shell mounted on said support, a motor projecting from said shell to one side of said support, a separator shell at-- tached to said pump shell on the opposite side therefrom from said motor, plates extending across said separator shell at opposite ends thereof to create a dust pan chamber at the bottom and an inlet chamber at the top, a dust pan removably located in the dust pan chamber and serving as a rest for the apparatus, and means within the pump shell for creating flow of air through the apparatus and in the separator shell for separating dust from said air.

' WILBUR V. PAINE. 

